CH2M, Central Texas Transpo Agency in Dispute Over Delayed Austin Toll Lanes ProjectAustin American-Statesman (TX)July 29--The completion date for the troubled MoPac Boulevard toll lane project could be as late as the end of 2016, more than a year after the original estimated opening, officials said Wednesday. And with that significant delay has come increasingly frosty relations between the project's developer, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and its primary contractor, CH2M. The two ...

07/30/2015

Engineers See Problems With Tunnel To Replace I-84 Viaduct in Hartford, Conn.Hartford Courant (CT)July 30--HARTFORD -- No decisions have been made yet, but engineers studying ways to replace the I-84 viaduct in Hartford said Wednesday that two options -- a tunnel or a newer version of the towering elevated highway -- appear increasingly impractical. The prospect of rebuilding a roughly milelong stretch of I-84 at ground level or in a slightly lowered trench has seemed the most likely ...

07/30/2015

Vegas-area Coal Plant Owners to Pay $4.3M to Settle Pollution LawsuitAssociated PressLAS VEGAS (AP) — Owners of a soon-to-close coal-fired power plant outside Las Vegas have agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle a lawsuit and clean up contamination that neighboring Native Americans blame for health problems and water pollution. Some $1.5 million of the funds from NV Energy and the California Department of Water Resources are earmarked for a community health wellness center on ...

07/30/2015

Jury Awards $47.8M in New York City Crane Collapse Civil CaseAssociated PressNEW YORK (AP) — A New York City jury on Thursday awarded $47.8 million to the families of two men killed in 2008 when a construction crane collapsed. The jury ordered James Lomma, the owner of the crane, and his companies to pay $32 million to the family of Ramadan Kurtaj and $15.8 million to the family of Donald Leo. In the May 2008 collapse on Manhattan's Upper East Side, parts of a ...

07/30/2015

Tidal Power Generator Comes Online in Alaskan RiverBangor Daily News (ME)July 30--PORTLAND, Maine -- The tidal power generation developer Ocean Renewable Power Co. that made international headlines in 2012 for connecting a Cobscook Bay tidal generator to the grid has started generating power for a remote Alaskan village using a smaller version of the turbine. The company announced this week that it placed its RivGen turbine generator in the Kvichak River to ...

07/30/2015

Analysis: Santa Fe Worst In Nation For Construction ActivitySanta Fe New Mexican, The (NM)July 30--Another month of job losses in construction has dropped Santa Fe County to last in the United States for industry growth. From June 2014 to June of this year, the Santa Fe metro area lost 600 jobs for a decline of 22 percent. That places it last among the 358 metro areas in percentage of job growth tracked by the Associated General Contractors, according to an analysis released ...

07/29/2015

House Votes to Fund Highways, Transit Through OctoberAssociated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to shore up federal highway aid and veterans' health care before heading out of town for its August recess, leaving unresolved an array of sticky issues that are sure to complicate an autumn agenda already groaning under the weight of indecision. In one of their last decisions before adjourning for a month, the House backed a bill ...

07/27/2015

Caltrans, Contractors Fined in Willits Bypass CollapsePress Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)July 27--State officials have levied a total of $165,000 in fines against Caltrans and two construction companies for the January collapse of a 150-foot section of the Highway 101 bypass project in Willits that seriously injured three workers. California Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded that serious worker safety violations were committed by the agency and two ...

07/27/2015

State Officials Blame Contractor for Delays on Univ. of Wyo. BuildingWyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY)July 27--CHEYENNE -- State officials are blaming a Wyoming contractor for delays that will prevent a new $50 million building at the University of Wyoming from opening on time. The Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility originally was set to be done in May so it would be ready for the upcoming fall semester. But construction officials told the State Building Commission last week that it likely won't be ...

07/29/2015

Protesters in Portland Dangle From Bridge in Bid to Block Shell Arctic IcebreakerSeattle Times (WA)July 29--Trying to delay Shell's Arctic ice-breaking ship in Portland, 13 protesters are dangling from the St. Johns Bridge, which spans the Willamette River. The protesters rappelled from the bridge at about 2:30 a.m. as a group of about 50 kayakers looked on, said Michael Foster, a kayaker from Seattle and veteran of earlier protests against Shell that took place in Washington state. Foster ...

07/28/2015

Miami-Dade Could Launch Western Rail Line for $102MMiami Herald (FL)July 28--Miami-Dade County could launch rail service to the western suburbs for about $102 million, a relatively low price that relies on local government using an existing cargo line that runs along the Dolphin Expressway. A new consultant's analysis offers the updated price estimates for an initiative spearheaded by Esteban "Steve" Bovo, the Miami-Dade commissioner who leads the county's ...

07/29/2015

N.J.'s Proposed $225M Settlement With Exxon Reviewed by State JudgeAssociated PressTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A $225 million settlement between Gov. Chris Christie administration and ExxonMobil will be discussed in front of a state judge Thursday and New Jersey residents could find out soon if it will be approved. What is expected to be a final hearing between the Department of Environmental Protection and the oil company is scheduled for Thursday in Superior Court in Mount Holly ...

07/29/2015

Mixed Crash-Test Results for Ford's New Aluminum-Body F-150sAssociated PressDETROIT (AP) — Ford's new aluminum-sided F-150 pickup saw mixed results in new crash tests by the insurance industry, and the damaged trucks cost more to repair than steel-bodied ones. The four-door Super Crew version of the 2015 F-150 got top ratings in all five of the crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. For now, it is the only full-size truck on the market ...

07/28/2015

Interior Sec.: Deepwater Wind Project a National Model for Offshore WindProvidence Journal (RI)July 28--ABOARD THE AVA PEARL -- With the first foundation of the nation's first offshore wind farm rising from the Atlantic Ocean waters behind her, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell described the project that developer Deepwater Wind is building off Block Island as "pioneering" and said it points the way toward a clean energy future for the country. "A place like Block Island, which could ...

07/28/2015

Fed. Regulators Approve Offshore LNG Project in Puerto RicoEFE InglesSan Juan, Jul 28 (EFE).- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, has authorized the development of the Aguirre Offshore GasPort, a floating terminal that will process liquefied natural gas for use in generating electricity in Puerto Rico.The Woodlands, Texas-based Excelerate Energy, which is developing the project, said the FERC's decision confirmed that the floating terminal posed ...

07/28/2015

Chinese Fuel-Tank Maker To Build Detroit PlantDetroit Free Press (MI)July 28--YFS Automotive Systems, a Chinese-owned manufacturer of automotive fuel tanks, will invest $26.9 million and create 160 jobs by locating a new plant in the city of Detroit. Today in Lansing, the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $1.3-million incentive grant to bring the plant to Michigan instead of Ohio. Gov. Rick Snyder, who met with YFS officials last November in Shanghai, said the ...

07/28/2015

Odebrecht CEO Indicted in Massive Brazil Corruption InvestigationEFE InglesSao Paulo, Jul 28 (EFE).- The CEO of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht was formally charged Tuesday with bribery, money laundering and criminal conspiracy for his alleged role in a $2 billion corruption scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras.Judge Sergio Moro accepted federal prosecutors' request for indictments of Marcelo Odebrecht and 12 other people, including former executives ...

07/27/2015

$1B Pa. Rapid Bridge Replacement Project Gets UnderwayPittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)July 27--Construction and finance professionals headquartered in an office near Pittsburgh International Airport are charged with carrying out an ambitious, $1 billion plan that's unique among the nation's infrastructure projects: Build 558 bridges across the state in three years or less. The Pennsylvania Rapid Bridge Replacement project aims to cut down on PennDOT's 4,000 or so structurally ...

07/27/2015

Proposed 58-Story Billboard Tower Becoming Miami's Latest Political FootballMiami Herald (FL)July 27--Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez says a twisting 58-story billboard tower proposed in the city of Miami is illegal under the county's code of laws, and it looks like the city will give his administration every chance to enforce that position. Last week, Miami commissioners voted to repeal legislation enabling "media towers," such as the project proposed by developer Michael Simkins in ...

07/27/2015

First Foundation for Deepwater Wind Farm Installed Off Block Island, R.I.Providence Journal (RI)July 27--NEW SHOREHAM, R.I. -- After days of waiting for the seas off Block Island to calm, Deepwater Wind on Sunday finally installed the first foundation for the five-turbine wind farm it's building in waters off Block Island. Within minutes of the steel latticework structure being lowered into the Atlantic Ocean waters about three miles southeast of the island at 2:30 p.m., Jeffrey ...

07/27/2015

House, Senate on Collision Course in Highway DebateAssociated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans rebuffed their Senate counterparts Monday over must-pass highway legislation, setting the two chambers on a collision course days ahead of a crucial deadline in the midst of the summer driving season. As House members convened for their final days of work before an annual August recess, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy ruled out taking up the Senate's highway ...

07/27/2015

$610M Photonics Research and Development Hub Planned in Rochester, N.Y.Associated PressROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Rochester, whose fortunes have risen and fallen with the demand for futuristic technologies from former powerhouses like Xerox and Kodak, is looking for its next big breakthrough in the field of integrated photonics, a light science with the potential to transform communications, medicine and national defense. Federal, state and local officials on Monday announced the ...

07/27/2015

Judge: BP Payouts to Local Entities to Start Soon for Oil Spill SettlementAssociated PressNEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge says BP will begin paying up to $1 billion in settlements to compensate local governments across the Gulf Coast for lost tax revenue and other economic damages they blame on the company's 2010 oil spill. An order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said all of the payments to local governments must be made within 30 days. BP's Macondo well blew ...

07/27/2015

With Boston Out, U.S. Olympic Committee to Look Elsewhere for 2024 Host City NomineeAssociated PressNow that Boston is out of the picture, the U.S. Olympic Committee wants to explore other opportunities to host the 2024 Games. In a statement Monday announcing the end of the bid in Boston, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said the federation was still interested in mounting a bid for the Summer Games. He didn't mention any city specifically, though the best bet is Los Angeles would be the candidate. ...

07/27/2015

V.P. Biden, N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Announce Plans for New LaGuardia AirportAssociated PressNEW YORK (AP) — A year after comparing New York's LaGuardia Airport to "some Third World Country," Vice President Joe Biden helped unveil an ambitious plan Monday to rebuild its collection of aging terminals into a modern, unified hub while easing congestion by doubling the space available for planes to operate. "I wish everything I said that was truthful but controversial would turn out this ...